GREENWOOD HEIGHTS — BROOKLYN NATIVE NEO-EXPRESSIONIST JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT, writer and diplomat James Weldon Johnson and Susan Smith McKinney-Steward, New York State’s first woman medical school graduate, are among the Green-Wood Cemetery’s permanent historical residents. They will be celebrated Friday as part of a Juneteenth event.
The history and contributions of Black Americans is the focus of Green-Wood Cemetery’s Juneteenth, which will also mark the 161st anniversary of the end of slavery. The word Juneteenth is derived from “June” and “nineteenth,” on which, in 1865, Major General Gordon Granger ordered that Texas’ enslaved people be freed — more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. The free, family-friendly program, which runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., will also honor Black History.
Attendees will begin their visit at The Green-House to create paper flags inspired by the Juneteenth flag. Then they will do a tour with a self-guided map that highlights the gravesites of Basquiat, Johnson, McKinney-Steward and many other Black pioneers, artists and changemakers.
Registration is encouraged so that enough materials can be prepared. The program begins at the Green-House at the cemetery’s main entrance, 500 25th St. See more Juneteenth events.
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